By far, my favorite part of the week was the Psalm sing and marshmallow roast. There are few things I enjoy more in life than sitting around the fire, looking into the flashing flames and glowing embers, drinking in the delicious aroma of hardwood smoke, feeling the toasty warmth of the blaze roast my toes as I rock in my hammock camping chair. I love spending hours sitting around the inviting warmth of the fire, talking with friends and family and singing a capella or with a guitar. These times reawaken sweet memories of my youth group camping on the shore of Lake Huron and my youth director leading us in "Come Thou Fount." Add to these sweet memories roasted marshmallows, melted chocolate and cinnamon graham crackers, and you have an experience fit for a king.
Since not everyone knows how to roast a marshmallow to perfection, I would like to share what I have learned from nearly thirty years of practice. The most important part of roasting a marshmallow properly is finding the right spot in the fire. Look for a place with few flames and plenty of red coals. With a big fire, you can sometimes find an opening in the logs that allows you to put the marshmallow in the center of the fire. Once you have found a suitable spot, stick your marshmallow in and watch it carefully. If you have the right spot, the marshmallow will start smoking in about 20 or 30 seconds. As soon as it starts smoking, pull it out and let it cool a little before putting it back in. The key is to make it smoke without letting it burst into flame. Observe where the color is growing darker, and adjust the placement next time to achieve an even roast.The outside of the marshmallow will become crunchy and a little flaky.
Once you have the perfectly roasted marshmallow, you can make a gourmet s'more by putting the chocolate on the graham cracker and holding it over the fire until the chocolate starts to melt. Though this feat is much easier with a two prong roasting stick, you can achieve similar results by putting the graham cracker with chocolate on a warm stone near the fire. If you take the time to toast the cracker and melt the chocolate before adding your crunchy, golden marshmallow, I'm sure you'll agree the warm, gooey, delectable combination is worth the effort. As the nights grow chilly, maybe you will have the chance to build a fire and try your own hand at roasting the perfect marshmallow and making your own gourmet smore.
